Christian bassist's and finding time to practice.

Good question. On top of being a young adults leader at my church and being in our worship team, I also work full-time and study part-time. The fact that the worship team at church rehearses twice a week, and I am recording 2 albums (solo and band) makes practice even more difficult as I am "playing" more than I am "practising". I do try to practise the more difficult parts when I find them, which is usually at night before bedtime for about 30 minutes on most nights. I also try to learn new things during this time, ranging from music theory, to new modes (while playing along with jazz CDs), to new recording techniques. I have to also try to fit my patient wife into my schedule! So, you're right, time is a precious commodity.

I suspect there are a lot of Christian bassists on this forum.

 

I have a similar busy schedule, but I sit down and learn something new as often as possible and rehash the old in between. I know too many great players here in town who don't get called anymore because their playing became 'stale'. I really don't have a set practice regime(sp?), usually I just pull out the CD's and play. My favorite is to find some new Choir music (Mississippi Mass, Brooklyn Tab, Georgia Mass, etc.) and learn those lines.

 

I just try to practice every day. I started this about 4 years ago, after several years of "days when I feel like it". The main thing for me was turning off/putting away the television. What typically happens though, to sort of answer your question, is mid-evening after the kids are down, and my wife is busy for a moment with e-mail/whatever. Then after that we hang. Lately we've been working up some praise stuff together, which is fun and is a "two-birds" deal - I'm practicing and spending time with her. A day where I play a service or rehearse "counts" as practice in my terms (though I know it's quite different, really). But again, just to get the bass in your hands every day, is more important than "when", to me. What I'm having trouble finding time for is getting more of my music written down and arranged. Little by little will have to do, I suppose.

 

week nights are free for me. the only thing i really have is youth group on wed. and church on sunday ( or saturday night service ). so i hvae alot of free time actually. i do devoutionals, but, still, that doesnt take that long. so i have quite a bit of free time to practice.

 

right now...

if i'm not doing anything with the youth group, worship team, or anything having to do with church (biblestudy)...then i'm on my bass!

school comes 3rd...sorry but it does!
I used to have the same problem, but if you don't make time to practice and get better at playing, then you are wasting your talents...talents that you can use in worship.

 

How can you say there is no god?

Have you not heard of Jaco?

LoL
JK

Anywayz, I used to have NO time between devotionals, prayer, church on Saturdays and Sundays, home fellowship, Youth Group on Tuesday, and helping out with em on Wednesdays, but I dropped alot of that stuff this year cause of Jazz Band which I need to practice ALOT on.

I can't believe how far behind I am in my playing....its terrible....really, a shame.

 

Its a bit difficult to be a Christian and not believe in God. I saw this post and thought I would wait for the jokes. If you still want to have a faith then I suggest the following.

If you are stretched thin then decide what is more important and persue that. At my last church I did everything and just before I left I was involved in loads of stuff. At my current church I do bass. I do a lot of bass. I am happy. My band leader is happy. And I still rarely practice. Rehearsals are most Thursdays every other Monday some Saturdays and before each service. Oh and theres a service on the first Thursday of every month.

I also play guitar and run a sort of Christian band have a wife three kids two cars and a goldfish that did have a name but we forgot it.

 

I have a killer schedule, but I still try to get in an hour a night, but never less than 1/2 hour. Of course I go to bed @ 1 or 1:30 and get up at 5:30. Practicing at home on weeknights means hooking up bass and headphones to a Korg Pandora. On ocassion I'll also plug a cassette tape or CD into it to learn music for the next service.

I play at two churches, the church I "attend" and another smaller church nearby. I say "attend" 'cause if I'm not singing or playing at my church, I'm playing at the other. The other church has a dedicated Praise Team that rehearses same time every Saturday. This is cool, 'cause I not only get in good practice time, but the drummer and one of the keyboard players and I hang around after and just jam. At least until my wife pages me .

Usually I record our practices and jam sessions and play them back through my Pandora when I need to work on a particular piece.

The church I attend rehearses the choirs but not the musicians . The director tells me what song and what key, sometimes I get a tape. It works out in the end, 'cause I tend to know all the songs from having sang them.

Peace,

James

 

Jeez guys, it was a joke, indicated by the smilie. I got it.

 

It's amazing what you think will make you sound cool when you're 14. I KNOW that there are some good kids here. Do society a favor and loan your parents out to the ones who haven't been taught as well. You all know who you are.

But staying on topic:

I couldn't call myself a Good Christian. Calling myself a Christian period would be a stretch. Haven't been to church in probably 25 years. But I DO work 10 hours a day, take my son to football practice 3 nights a week. Games on Saturday. I go to school Tuesday, bass lessons Wednesday, dance lessons with my daughter on Thursday.

No wonder the house is falling down.

I try to get in an hour late every night, with headphones if I have to. Friday is my night to get together with the boys and spill beer all over our gear.

Dave

 

Oh yeah, this is a constant issue for me too. I'm married and have 3 school-age boys, and thankfully a *very* patient and understanding wife. She teaches at a Christian school, and as such her time is pretty well consumed too.

I work lots of bizarre hours and live 51 miles from my job, and between work, traffic, homework, church activities, home fellowship, school-activities, yard-work, home & vehicle maintenance, bass lessons, etc, there certainly isn't much quality time left for anything. So for me, since I realized a long time ago that everything is a sacrifice, I just have to decide on a daily basis what those sacrifices will be. For the majority of days I'll sacrifice sleep so that I can practice for 30-60 minutes afer the kids are in bed, but, like malthumb it's through headphones and my Pandora. And, if it weren't for my intense passion for this instrument, I probably couldn't muster the strength for these late nights. Fortunately, I've got very little interest in TV, unless I'm spending time watching something with the family, otherwise, I'd never even find *any* time to practice.

Of course, the trouble with sacrificing sleep is obvious, especially when you get up at 4AM. You need enough energy and clarity to perform well at work and provide for your family, (both financially and emotionally) and long-term sleep deprivation does not fit well into that equation. :-(

Having said that, I have to admit that as unfortunate as it is, there are days when I just can't justify spending the time to practice. I won't sacrifice my relationships at home or my overall health, nor will I shirk my responsibilities in order to pursue my passion, so yeah, I'm right there in the club with the rest of you.

It certainly is tough, but I wouldn't know how to live any other way.

Hey, by the way count_funkula, you mentioned something called "rest and relaxation". So what is that anyway? )

Peace!

 

Yep, got it last week. It's awesome! Pics and info are on the Carvin BBS.

Regards,

Mike

 

Hey thanks! It's a 3-piece walnut neck with walnut body sides and gloss finish. Yeah, it definately met (exceeded really) my expectations. I'm a happy camper!

Regards,

Mike